Police rescue women held hostage, suspect arrested

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) – A Louisville man is facing multiple charges after he held two women hostage at gunpoint.

Around 4:45 a.m. June 21, police were called to the 600 block of Lindell Avenue about a man with a gun pointing it at women. While heading to the scene, police were told the call had been upgraded to a possible shooting with a victim in an nearby alley.

When officers arrived witnesses directed them to an apartment and said the man with the gun may have hostages. As police entered the building they heard women arguing and pleading with someone to be let them go.

The report said one officer could hear the sound of rounds being loaded into a gun and the suspect yelling at the hostages. Fearing for the lives of the hostages, police decided to enter the apartment. When officers confronted the suspect, Thomas E. Hunter, 39, he wouldn't show his hands. After Hunter was placed under arrest, police found the women in a bathroom unharmed.

The handgun was found in a bedroom where police said Hunter tossed it. Officers said the .9mm handgun had a round in the chamber and a full magazine. While being search after his arrest, police found two large rocks believed to be crack cocaine in a pants pocket.

Hunter was booked into Louisville Metro Corrections on charges of five counts of wanton endangerment, one count each of burglary, unlawful imprisonment, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, disorderly conduct, tampering with physical evidence, trafficking in controlled substances and alcohol intoxication.